Sam Laughlin answers â€œDoes anybody else think that Steinbeck is...â€� â€� The Pearl Q&A

Grace asked this question about The Pearl:

Does anybody else think that Steinbeck is a bit sexist and degrading towards women?

Sam Laughlin Steinbeck is definitely from an earlier time, and has attitudes that we, today, would call sexist. However, I do not believe that he is belittling theâ€¦m´Ç°ù±ðSteinbeck is definitely from an earlier time, and has attitudes that we, today, would call sexist. However, I do not believe that he is belittling the importance of women, or degrading them.

Steinbeck comes from a time when the roles for women and men were more defined. The characters in the book are playing their parts based on the roles society has for them. That applies to men and women both.

In multiple places in Steinbeck's work, women are seen as savior figures. Juana stays with Kino, and keeps him from turning into an animal. Adam thinks that Cathy Ames is the woman who will save him, only to find out that she was just using him all along. Cathy is a very empowered woman, even though she is evil. She is the exception that proves the rule. Even the girl breastfeeding the bum at the end of grapes of wrath is a female-saves-man trope.

In some situations, it is sexist, such as Candy's Wife, who never even gets her own name. I'm not going to say that that's not sexist. Of Mice and Men is portraying poor white trash men, who would most definitely have had sexist attitudes in real life.

There is a diverse variety of female characters in Steinbeck's work. He seems to see woman as the other half of man. Men are providers and defenders, while women are nurturers and home makers. This was the prevailing philosophy at the time that Steinbeck lived, and his work reflects it.

Yes, we can say that giving the sexes different roles is in itself sexist. But I think that attitude is taking it too far. Accepting that men and women are different is not a bad thing, and I think calling that sexist is an overreach.

I have respect for JS as a writer, and I don't like to see his work as sexist. But it is, technically. But then again, he lived from 1902 to 1968. Everyone who lived in that time was sexist. We have to accept history for what it is.(less)

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